Yale Looks For Sixth Win In Football Game Vs. Princeton

NEW HAVEN — Yale senior defensive tackle Carl Kreitzberg says his history major is not so much about history as it is about "how to make history."

That, of course, was the goal this season. The players wanted to be the first Yale team since 2006 to win or share the Ivy League title, but injuries took care of that after a 3-1 start.

But as Kreitzberg has heard Yale coach Tony Reno say many times, the ideal for Yale football now and into the future is to dedicate itself to "the process" that hopefully leads to multiple titles.

"We have a word we always come back to — process," Kreitzberg said. "I think that word, more or less, means what do you do on a weekly basis to prepare to play, do well in class, treat other people the right way? Crazy things happen, injuries and weather … Control what you can control, by following the process, is what we've really embraced. It's one of our psychological foundations."

In this specific way, Reno likely has already won big at Yale.

"I knew in my mind when I came here [four seasons ago] how I wanted Yale football to look and act on the field and in the community," Reno said. "The thing was getting the players to believe in [my vision]. It has taken awhile to do it; last year was the first we could see the relationships, the bonding was strengthening so they could deal with adversity and push through it."

Reno, a former assistant at Yale and Harvard, is noted for the colloquialisms he dispenses in hopes of empowering his players.

"We have a saying, 'If you're not dead, you can't quit' and that's what this program is all about," Reno said. "Week in and week out, we try to play the hand we are dealt as best we can. If we do, we have a better chance of getting the outcome we want."

This week, the goal he's encouraging on Saturday at Princeton (5-3, 2-3) is to continue the work that turned the disappointment of a 17-7 loss to Columbia on Halloween into the satisfaction of a 41-14 rout of Brown last Saturday at Yale Bowl.

"We talk about that [commitment] daily here," Reno said. "It's something we believe in. It's not something that just happens. Our upperclassmen demand that from the younger players, and once you demand it you tend to get it. The culture is what got us from where we were two weeks ago to where we are now and where we want to be at the end of the day."

In defeating Brown, Yale (5-3, 2-3) dipped into the depth of its roster and returned junior cornerback Dale Harris to his natural position, tailback. Harris gained 1,700 yards with 28 touchdowns at St. Paul's School in Maryland and had never played corner until he came to college.

"I have some knowledge of what it takes to play the position," said Harris, who gained 71 yards on 12 carries and scored his first college touchdown on a 3-yard run.

Reno said Harris, who will remain with the offense this week, would have debuted against Columbia had he not been injured.

"When you recruit players, you are looking for those who can do multiple things," Reno said. "But it's the mentality that we try to create here — what can I do to help make the team successful? If that means you are playing center or tailback, it's what our players do and I am very proud of my team for doing that."

But it was sophomore Deshawn Salter's three scores that pumped most of the fuel into the win. Quarterback Morgan Roberts responded to two brief benchings against Columbia with a solid day, completing 28 of 41 for 267 yards, 13 for 154 yards to sophomore Christopher Williams-Lopez.

"You can't expect not to score in a game and just keep doing what we were doing," Roberts said. "But we had an unbelievable week of practice. Not one time all week was I wondering about what I was going to do. It's was more about how the team would play."